Inactivated polio vaccines to get OK

Health minister Yoko Komiyama said Friday the ministry will approve inactivated polio vaccines shortly so they can be prepared in September for immunizations.

A ministry panel Thursday recommended approving the vaccines to make them available this fall.

Because live vaccines, currently approved for use here, have a child paralysis rate of 1.4 per million, more parents are calling for approving inactivated vaccines, which have a lower rate of paralysis.

The ministry is expected to approve the Imovax vaccine made by Sanofi Pasteur SA of France, which is approved in 86 countries. The Kanagawa Prefectural Government is already importing it.